The article, “Disruption to the Circadian Rhythm Can Cause weight Gain, Study Says,” by Dr. Joseph Cafone discusses the possible link between weight gain and glucocorticoids taken as medication. Cortisol increases in the morning to help a person wake up, but in this study on mice, they observed the difference between chronic stress and varying peaks of glucocorticoids throughout the day.
When comparing the content of the article to the original study, the information is accurate, but the information is written in an oversimplified manner. Since the article was published on ABC, the reader is the average person, thus, their knowledge on detailed physiology is most likely limited.
Although cortisol is known by the general public as the stress
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In the original study, Dr. ___ studied the relationship between PPARG levels and a constant amount of glucocorticoid in the blood. This study kept glucocorticoid levels at a constant instead of the typical osscilations you see in the average person. For example, instead of a drop in cortisol during the sleep period, the cortisol levels were kept constant. Dr. ____ found that an increased, but constant, level of PPARG ultimately led to an increase in adipose tissue. When increasing the dose at the typical oscillation times, fat mass did not significantly increase. Therefore, Dr. –– can conclude chronic and even amount glucocorticoid in the body increases fat …show more content…
Although cortisol is not singularly responsible for weight gain, glucocorticoids have a significant role in insulin sensitivity and pushes the circadian rhythm back.
Overall, the differences between the article and the original study were drastic, yet accurate. The information ABC published was not incorrect, but ABC did not discuss the specifics because the audience differs from those whom will read Dr. ___ study. One possible finding that will be observed in future studies is, similar to discovering the best time to take asthma medication, one of the benefits of this study is possibly finding the best time to inject or take glucocorticoids. Since the timing of oscillations did not increase fat mass, the discovery could be substantial. As the reader, we do have to keep in mind that mice do differ from human beings physiologically. Moreover, there is reason to believe there could potentially be a best time to take glucocorticoids that will positively influence a person’s circadian rhythm and the opportunity for future clinical trials on human beings. Ultimately, the findings in this study could help those people taking glucocorticoids in regards to when they should take the medicine and how that could help regulate their circadian rhythm without worrying about weight
Shannon, J. B. (2007). Endocrine and metabolic disorders sourcebook: Basic consumer health information about hormonal and matabolic disorders that affect the body's growth, development, and functioning, including disorders of the pancreas, ovaries and testes ... (2nd ed.). Detroit,, MI: Omnigraphics.
The six articles that appear in this issue of Journal of Obesity and Bariatrics uphold that value by using visual aids such as tables and statistical figures. For example, author Yishai Levy (2015) argues that bariatric surgery is a potential cure for Type II Diabetes (pg. 1). First, Levy supports this claim by using three tables of data, which she uses to demonstrate the effectiveness of bariatric surgery on aspects of the body like glucose homeostasis, blood tests, and inflammatory markers, (p. #3). She also uses statistical figures such as, “50% improvement in liver enzymes,” and “46% change in excess weight loss” and using such data, she adds more authority to her claim through the power of numbers (p. #3). The use of tables can help the audience better understand the results of the study and allows the author to present the results of her findings in a clear and concise manner. One thing to consider is that replication is important in natural sciences such as Bariatrics, and by providing numbers, the author makes it important to replicate her findings to determine the reliability and validity of her
Cortisol is in the class of hormones called glucocorticoids and affects almost every organ in the body. One of the most important functions of cortisol is to help regulate the body’s response to stress. Cortisol is also responsible for other necessary functions including: helping to maintain blood pressure and cardiovascular functions, helping to slow the immune system’s inflammatory response, helping to balance the effects of insulin in breaking down sugars for energy, helping to regulate the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, and helping to maintain proper arousal of sense of well being. The amount of cortisol is precisely balanced and regulated by the brain’s hypothalamus.
4. Circadian Cancer Therapy. William J. M. Hrushesky, Ed. CRC Press, Inc., MI, 1994. pp 3-9, 279-281.
This shows the importance of how the peripheral clocks works along with the circadian clock to maintain normal functions in the body. In addition, Takahashi highlighted that to find out how transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms determine circadian output was done by “quantifying budding transcripts relative to mature mRNAs, which showed majority of the changes in the circadian changes in MRNA resulted from posttranscriptional regulation.” (Takahashi, Green & Partch, 2014). Nevertheless, it is still not proven what factors contributes to the gene
Basically, the cells are not directly affected by the miscommunication, they continue to use cortisol at a steady amount, but normally the body would slow the amount used when necessary by limiting the amount of cortisol in the bloodstream. When this is affected the body is unable to regulate the amount present which allows the cells to continue using the same amount of cortisol, which is when symptoms start
In this day and age anyone can write anything and put it on the internet for everyone to read. You have to be diligent in separating fact from fiction. If you are skeptical you may have to do your own research to see where the information originated. Do not believe everything you read just because it states it was from a study as it may not be reliable or truthful. Both of these studies had interesting information, however since they both were lacking sufficient data it was hard to determine if the studies were completely honest and adequate or not.
In the world of news reporting correlation often times gets reported as causation. This is not the case, since correlation inherently by definition requires further testing to show causality. These articles all refer to a different variable that shows correlation with weight gain or loss. It is our job to question all statistical statements made by our news. The articles we will study are "The Link Between Sleep and Weight", "Why Going to Church Can Make You Fat", and "Why Having Kids Is Bad for Your Health".
Cortisol is a type of steroid hormone known as a glucocorticoid (helps body deal with stress), and is produced in the outer section of the adrenal glands known as the adrenal cortex. It is essential for sustaining life and it has many functions. Cortisol may directly initiate some of these functions or it may be permissive in that it allows certain processes to take place by increasing enzyme activity, promoting enzymes, or by regulating the actions of other hormones. This powerful hormone affects nearly all body systems with binding sites on practically all body cells. Secretion of this hormone is cyclic with higher levels of secretion in the morning and lower levels at night. Because higher levels of cortisol are secreted in times of stress, it is called the “stress hormone. In the fight or flight stress response, cortisol is considered the most important hormone because it affects many of the changes that take place in the body that are essential for coping with stress. In fact, all the functions of cortisol are too numerous to mention for the purpose of this discussion, but I will try to describe some of major functions of this amazing hormone.
When reading this article, there were a couple words and complicated phrases that were a bit confusing. There are some words that some of the readers may not understand which can make the journal hard to
First, there are natural causes of obesity that we cannot control such as genetic and hormonal disorders. Among the rare genetic obesity syndromes is the Prader-Willi Syndrome. It is the most common obesity syndrome due to the loss of imprinted genes. Some illnesses can lead to obesity or weight gain such as Cushing’s disease or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (“Adult Overweight”). However, these genes do not always predict future health. Multiple genes may increase a person’s susceptibility for obesity and require other factors such as large food portions or little physical activity (“Adult Overweight”). Obesity can also be caused by common Endocrine diseases or hormonal disorders such as Hypothyroidism or the more rare ones such as Cushing’s synd...
Cortisol hormone is a vital body function. It is created by the adrenal glands, which is located in close proximity to the kidneys. It functions as a stress responder. It assists our system by regulating blood pressure, slowing the immune system, and normalizing the metabolism of nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrate and fats. Excessive increase may cause illnesses such as hypertension, and panic disorders. Conventional and natural remedies are effective in treating this condition. Natural remedies are very popular method use today.
Cortisol or glucocorticoid is the end product from the activation of the HPA axis and it has both beneficial and harmful side effects on the body, from reducing inflammation in cases of injury to impairing the immune system and alerting certain brain regions. Early life experiences, such as childhood abuse and being raised in a stressful environment are predispositions that can cause certain individuals to be more responsive to stress than others. In addition, prolonged and repeated exposure to cortisol can increase susceptibility to certain illness and injuries amongst individuals. For instance, the rate of visits at a doctor’s office often increases amongst college students during finals week. Given that stress is part of life and it serves us in both positive and negative terms, in today’s fast paced environment, however, it’s negatives outweigh the positives. Our busy schedules in combination with daily stressors are impacting our stress levels and with repeated stimulation of the HPA axis, our bodies are taking the biggest
All in all, each of the articles utilized three key factors: stress, glucocorticoids, and appetite. While the papers conflicted each other in regards to subject species, it is evident that stress-induced glucocorticoids are key factors for altering appetite and behavior. Subjects of higher cortisol sensitivity that undergo stressful environments are more likely to consume sweeter snacks. This is similar to the experiments conducted with rats, where the ones treated with mild stress are more likely to continuously eat if fed different diets rather than extremely stressful environments. It is because of these stressful environments that the neural circuitry behind appetite and motivation are altered, creating a reward system or a sense of relief through eating.
It’s better not to feed that hormone. Rather, plan your meals and meditate to naturally fight your stress.